In just a few decades, the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners has grown tremendously. MRI scans are being increasingly used to aid in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, torn ligaments, tendonitis, cancer, strokes, and the like. As will be appreciated, MRI is a non-invasive medical test that aids physicians in the diagnoses and treatment of various medical conditions. The enhanced contrast that an MRI scan provides between the different soft tissues of the body allows physicians to better evaluate the various parts of the body and determine the presence of certain diseases that may not be assessed adequately with other imaging methods such as X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT).
An MRI system typically includes one or more coils to generate the magnetic field. Additionally, the MRI system also includes one or more MRI receiver coils configured to detect signals from a gyromagnetic material within a patient. The MRI receiver coils, hereinafter ‘receiver coils’, are used for patients of various sizes and shapes. Typically, the same sheet of receiver coils is used for patients of various sizes. The usage of the same sheet of receiver coils for patients of various sizes may either result in discomfort of the patients or inferior quality images. For example, the loosely fitting sheet of receiver coils may result in poor image quality and the tightly body hugging sheet of receiver coils may result in anxiety of a patient. Sometimes multiple sheets of receiver coils of various sizes may be maintained by imaging users for patients of different sizes. However, maintaining the multiple sheets of receiver coils adds to the cost of imaging and requires additional selection and installation time. Furthermore, the selected receiver coils may not fit a patient adequately.